Memoirs Of A Reluctant Death Eater
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: Written For Amber. Regulus didn't become a Death Eater for Power or Family. No, Regulus was seduced to the Death Eaters. RegBarty.


**Written for Amber. I really hope you enjoy this, darling :) **

**Word Count : 1414**

**Memoirs of a Reluctant Death Eater **

I always knew I would be recruited, but I never planned to accept. I dreamed, for years, of being like Sirius, of walking away, of being a disgrace to the Black family and actually making something of my life. I planned for every scenario, or at least I thought I did. There was only one way I didn't think of, and that was how they got to me. How they knew, I'll never find out, because even as I write this, the minutes to my death are ticking down.

If you are reading this, then you're about to find out why, I, Regulus Arcturus Black, became a Death Eater against my will.

It all began when I was still at school, in my last year. NEWTs bore down on me, and the pressure to get straight O's was a weight I carried with me all the time. I knew that to escape, I would need the best grades. I would need to be able to give myself instant independence.

Hour after hour in the library, studying book after book, was how I spent all of my time outside of classes. It was there that he came upon me, it was there that I could feel his eyes on my back as he lounged in a chair a few tables away. It was there, amongst the stacks of books, that he stole my heart.

Barty Crouch Junior. I never noticed him before seventh year. He was a little strange, perfectly understandable when you thought about who his father was, but even so, when we were younger, he was beneath my attention. He changed, I assume in the summer before our seventh year, because when he came back, he was different. A lot different.

He seemed, calmer, more confident, an air of arrogance and self appreciation surrounded him. I would later find out that he had taken the mark during that summer. When he passed by in the corridor, I couldn't help but stare. It confused me. _He_ confused me.

Mid year, he began to acknowledge me in the corridors. By then, he had already begun to stare at me in the library. He would nod his head at me, as he passed, always alone. That was something else I noticed. He was always alone. People would try and speak to him, especially the girls, and he would ignore them, or stare at them until they got uncomfortable enough to walk away. It made me feel... special, in a way I didn't understand, and wasn't sure if I liked.

I can't remember now, when he started sitting at my table in the library. The first time, I got no studying done. I stared at the same page for almost an hour after he sat down, until I heard him chuckle.

"Are you trying to memorise the whole page, Black?" he asked me.

I left the table as quickly as I could, cursing myself the whole time. Could I have looked any stupider to him? I don't think so. After that, he sat at my table everyday, and I quickly learned to ignore his presence enough to continue studying. He wouldn't sat anything. He would slouch in his chair, sometimes picking up the odd book, but most of the time he would just watch me.

It was distracting, but in a good way.

Towards the latter part of the year, we shared small conversations, often about unimportant things, the weather, classes, our fellow students. It was... comfortable, talking to him, even with the years of shared ignorance of each other between us. I didn't question why he suddenly wanted to get to know me, and he didn't ask why I studied so hard when, as a Black, I was eligible for any job I wanted anyway. Looking back on it now, I can't help but wonder if he knew what I was planning to do.

The night before the first exam, charms, if I remember correctly, he asked me to meet him on the Astronomy Tower, at midnight. I refused, of course, but he pushed until I could do nothing but agree to meet him there. I remember it being a cold night, despite the fact we were moving quickly into summertime. I wrapped my cloak around me as I waited for him. He didn't arrive until half past.

I asked him about it, weeks later, and he said it had been a test. Did I believe he was worth waiting for? The answer had been a resounding yes.

That was the first time he kissed me. It was rough, and yet gentle. It was perfect. _He_ was perfect.

The summer following was a whirlwind of the strangest kind. We would sneak away for hours, spend time kissing, laughing, being the teenagers we were. I should have been searching for a job and a flat, following the plan I had laid out for myself, but all I could think about was Barty. I was obsessed with him, and strangely, I didn't mind.

It was a warm night, when he broached the subject. It's strange, the things you remember when you think hard enough, but I don't need to think hard to remember that night. It's engraved on my mind. It was the first time he told me he loved me. It was the first time we made love. It was the night I agreed to take the Dark Mark.

He told me, the words will never leave me, He said, "We'll never be able to be together properly, if you don't. My Lord won't allow me to stay with you, if you are not with him. Do if for me? Do it for us. I love you, Reg."

I agreed. How could I not? He said he loved me.

He took me with him to the next meeting, and he stood by my side as Lord Voldemort searched my mind for any deception. There was none. I was sure about Barty, therefore, I was sure about taking the mark. The plans I had before were long gone. All I wanted was Barty.

Barty stayed with me that night, he muttered sweet nothings in my ear as I gasped at the pain. I should have expected pain, after all, I was being branded.

It's been a year since that day.

Since taking the mark, since he searched my mind, Voldemort has trusted me. He hasn't thought to question me, which is a good thing, for me at least. He would have know I wasn't loyal to him, not at all. I was loyal to Barty. When I was asked to provide a house elf, I brought Kreacher along. He's a good elf, and I knew he would come home and he would tell me what happened, and where he was taken.

I arrived early. It could possibly be the biggest mistake of my life. I was happier not knowing the truth of what I heard. I was happier when I was oblivious.

Barty was there, talking to some of the other Death Eaters. They were ribbing him, talking about his tag along.

"It worked didn't it?" Barty said as I watched from a corner, unseen. "Black became a Death Eater, just as our lord wanted. I did my job. I'll be rid of him, as soon as Our Lord says I can be."

A few words, fourteen to be precise. Nothing in the grand scheme of things. To me, they meant everything, as they smashed everything I thought I knew into tiny little pieces.

It had all been a lie, done in the name of The Dark Lord, done, because of the Dark Mark on his arm. I meant nothing to him, as he meant everything to me.

My road forward is clear, it has been since Kreacher returned. I could never bring myself to hurt Barty, even as he has hurt me, but I will do my part to bring down the man responsible.

To whoever has found this, whether you are Death Eater or Light Minded, or even Neutral. Know this. I died, to bring down the Dark Lord, but it wasn't him that killed me.

Barty Crouch Jr killed me, the moment he sat at my table in the library. I just didn't know it yet.

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**Also Written for The Disney Character Competition - The Hunter **


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